The Armor Angel
by Conscripts
Summary: Recent incidents revolving around the safety issue of Senshado has led to the Federation accepting the funding of a research contract in the training institution of the All-Star University Team, spearheaded by a prodigious and unselfishly devoted eighteen years old doctoral candidate who has a connection to one of these incidents. (Male OC but not tankers)
1. Chapter 1: The Physicist's Contract

**Hey guys. So this is a new project that I've been juggling with for a while now that I want to get my minds off of my main project. Don't get me wrong I want to write the other project, but I have so many ideas that aren't compatible with a single fic, so I decided to make a new one. This is more often than not a test project to see if the idea works, so unlike other fics I've been writing, I really want to see some feedbacks to see if this is worth my time. I know I don't ask this often, but if you are interested in seeing more of this new fic, then you can either review or follow it. If the receptions are great, I'd be more than happy to give this fic more attention. **

**Anyway, enjoy and I hope to hear receptions from you, good or bad. It helps me improve as a writer**

**Disclaimer: The universe of Girls und Panzer is borrowed property. Anything that belongs to them should be given credits where its due**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Physicists Contract

The sound of the shell smashing onto the turret mantlet of the Churchill VII followed by a deafening and prolonged scream of metal. The crew could feel the heat of the shells leaking into the interior. And the tank commander could wow at awe at the tank's capacity to take so many beatings and still remained an intact war machine that could still rain punishment on its attackers.

"We're still in this guys…"

The short black haired girl in the hatch was grinning fiercely. This was the championship match. All the other tanks have gone down honorably, but not hers. She was still standing. The last struggle. She would not go down without putting everything on the table. Everything would be at stake. Since the white flag was not up yet, it would continue. They would feel her wrath.

"Masala, that last shot wasn't from either Tigers. It was the Jagdtiger!" The gunner turned over to her commander worryingly.

"So it finally caught up with us." The grin on Masala's lips disappeared, as she peered over the hatch. "The pit is no longer safe for us. Let's get out of here."

The order was ambiguous, but clear enough for the driver to make her move. The track grinded the dirt violently as it reversed out of the pit, under the cover of several other defeated Matildas. Shells began to pummel the ground beneath their treads as the retreated. But they were capable of getting away with this for free. The Churchill's mobility is relatively unimpressive comparing to normal tanks, but the thick armor ensured their escape. The Black Forest's tanks were too heavy to exit that hill now. This was her chance.

"Masala, this is impossible!" The loader yelled. "There is no way we can go against a Tiger II and a Jagdtiger by ourselves!"

"But the Tiger I is our primary objective, isn't it?"

The Tiger I was Black Forest's command tank ever since that school existed. Proudly bearing the number of some of Germany's most feared tank aces, it hardly knew the feeling of a white flag flying atop of its hull. But the price to pay for its pride was that the tank can be knocked out a lot easier than its heavier counterpart, the Tiger II. If Masala was attending the Black Forest and was appointed commander in chief, she would probably switch it for that. But she found the elegance of St Gloriana more attractive than the highly disciplined Black Forest, and here she was. It was going to be hard, but not impossible.

"This is not elimination, and if the tank's white flag goes up before we do…"

"But we need to get at least to its sides for it. Are you sure you can sneak our tank over to it?" The gunner asked.

"Definitely." Masala replied confidently. "Be so subtle that you are invisible. Be so mysterious that you are intangible. Then you will control your rival's fate."

"Sun Tzu's Art of War." Everybody except the loader answered, to which the latter one only sighed conformingly. It was probably better to fight till the end rather than convince these people.

And where the subtleness could be found, according to Masala, was in the small town a few kilometers to the west of where they had previously engaged the three German tanks. The Churchill arrived and began to take point at a bridge, waiting for the Black Forest's three remaining tank to arrive. And soon they did. And automatically without any doubts it was the precede to a blazing hail of firepower demonstration. But all of them missed their targets as the movement of the tanks reduced its capacity to accurately hit targets.

They have taken the bait. Masala immediately ordered the tank to retreat further into the town. They stopped again at small primary school to feint an engagement before moving off again. Rinse repeat a few times until they arrived at a public auditorium. This is where they would end this battle. The address of the championship title would be decided here.

"Come on. Don't be so shy."

Masala's grin was once again visible after the Churchill parked right at the bottom of the funnel like structure. If they were foolish enough to bear down on them, then she would earn the once upon a lifetime chance. The Churchill's climb rate was far superior to the Tigers, and now they would pounce on that one advantage that they have.

Two of the Kuromorimine Tiger tanks did not take long to reach the lone Churchill as they rolled over to the edge of the auditorium. And began they spreaded out. This wasn't in Masala's expectation, but she could still see a gap. Undoubtedly though, they would attempt to attack the Churchill from afar. But the moment they attempted to lower their guns, they realized that it was too deep to depress the guns. The Churchill hugged too closely to the stairs, and it was pretty big auditorium, so firing from the top down was practically impossible. Only two choices to be taken: one to stand defenseless against the Churchill, which had enough elevation against the tanks, or run down on them. There was the third option of just retreat and wait for the timer, but Masala knew their Senshado style would not allow such a passive course of action. Of course they'd bear down on her.

And that was exactly what they did.

The Tiger II, the non-flag tank was commanded to make its advances. The tank ran over the edge, the tread began to lose balance and the entire hull slammed onto the stairs. The tank began to slide down the concrete steps, starting out small before picking up its velocity, preparing to take its seventy ton weight onto the poor Churchill. Masala knew that if the tank hit hers with its eighty eight now, it wouldn't even take that devastating ram to happen.

"Go Ceylon! Go!" The command was yelled clearly onto the radio. The Churchill's engine roared. The black fume vomitted from its exhaust pipe as the tank steadily climbed the stairs. Its mighty engines and its sturdy tracks carried the day. Before the Tiger II could readjust their guns to the Churchill, the Churchill had already reached the top, right near the other Tiger. The Tiger I fired in retaliation, but the shell flung violently off the Churchill's strong turret armor.

Here's her chance! Championship here she comes!

Not stopping where it was, the Churchill accelerated pass the Tiger I. The Tiger began turning in turn. But it wasn't fast enough. The Tigers did have fast turn rates if coupled with the turret, but the Churchill had the initiative. And a flat angle was all what Masala needed to pop its white flag up.

But there were merely two tanks only for some reasons. Something the St Gloriana's last tank commander did not anticipate.

"What?!"

All of a sudden, from a street where the Churchill just passed by, the Jagdtiger came storming at them. The two metallic hull collided like a sledgehammer on an anvil. The Churchill was pushed a dozen meters before stopping. The tracks were damaged, they could no longer move, but the Churchill's six-pounders had made it. Almost immediately after, the Tiger also caught up with its gun. The Jadgtiger also prepared itself. Three flashes, and a huge explosion engulfed the firers.

The crowds were in a heart-race. The dust cloud would clear in a matter of minutes. Would the battle continue? Or had one of the two flag-tanks been neutralized? Who would bring home the 57th Senshado's Tournament's championship title?

Ceylon had no idea what just happened. She couldn't feel the engine working anymore. The pedal no longer worked. And strangely, she could feel gunpowder inside the tank. A quick check of her station she realized that the tank's hydraulic system was down. Was the tank disabled? Did she lose? Could be, but she wasn't entirely sure if the Kuromorimine's flag tank was disabled as well, and if so was it disabled before or after she was.

Soon and inevitably, the cloud dust began to clear, and the fate of the tanks began to unveil…

"**St Gloriana's flag-tank has been disabled. That means the 57****th**** Senshado Tournament's championship belongs to Kuromorimine Girls Academy!" **

Crowds began to erupt in tears. Both of joy and disappointment. The result had never been so predictable than before. The Black Forest's school had always been the candidate for championship for ages, alongside Pravda. The only team other than those two to actually stand a chance was Saunder, but to win was a different story. People had been rooting for St Gloriana to be the underdog for a while, but it seemed like history repeated itself.

"Damn it, we're so close!" The tank's gunner clenched her fist in anger as she was merely inches away from getting that Tiger. But then again, she couldn't afford to be so. Losing was a common thing in St Gloriana, and after all, winning wasn't everything in the end. It was the values that mattered. That was what Masala had taught her. Being second place was already good enough for the school to shower them with celebrations for all week.

But unfortunately, they would get none of that…

"I admit, we were close to doing it. You've really impressed me this time Masa-" The loader turned around over to her commander, only for her entire body to go ghost white.

Masala was leaning against her arms, which were still gripping on the hatch. Her eyes were half-closed, her breathe were almost non-existent. And from the top of her forehead was a stream of red liquid oozing down her cheek. And it wasn't all. Her elegant uniform was also stained in the darker red color of blood at her waist, stomach and shoulders. Right next to her was a hole in the side of the turret. A hole that should not have been in a sport like this…

"Oh no! Masala's hurt! Call the emergency team now!" Immediately, her three friends surrounded her.

"I'm calling I'm calling!" The loader took the radio from her commander and immediately made the incident public. That there was a casualty, an actual casualty, for the first time in the history of Senshado.

The ambulance and recovery vehicle was quickly dispatched. But it may not be quick enough…

"Masala! Can you hear me! Please wake up!"

"Ceylon please! She's unconscious! She won't answer you!"

"There is nothing we can do at this moment. The doctors will do her best. Please let her go."

"No…No...JOULE!"

…

…

…

* * *

"_**This is tradition, this is culture, studied by girls from around the world to hone their characters. **_

_**Studying Senshado means studying what it means to be a woman.**_

_**Hot and hard like steel. Lovable like the clatter of iron tracks. And of absolutely deadly passion like the main cannon.**_

_**Senshado makes women alike more polite, graceful, modest and gallant."**_

* * *

Never had he shown any disagreements with the statement itself. He knew it wasn't in a researcher's mindset to show no objections at all to a fallible piece of perception - in fact it could easily become a big mistake - but he'd gladly let this swept under the rug. It was unlike any sports played. The task of having to handle a tank's steering wheel, or the very slight detail of how to make or break a tank's most vital essentials to the victory of the participating teams, or of having to coordinate a team of multiple coordination, of outwitting the opponent. The precision, timing, patience, attention to details, tactical prowess, situational awareness and perseverance of the girls also chimed in for the role of victory. It isn't just a matter of practice makes perfect. It never had. And that especially encompasses the beauty of this sport: it was the sport of all sports, a universal of all. The teamwork, the discipline, the respect for history and our ancestors and the overall sportsmanship involved, or supposed to be, would ensure not just a healthy physical prowess, but also at the end of the line: an elegant role model of the future.

But then again…why should he care?

The man in the black tailored suit and a light sky blue tie looked upon the two pairs of limbs crossing one another as it rested behind the front seat of one of the most well-known Dodge WC57 jeep, as it sped across the country road in the middle of nowhere. Then up his knees to his thigh before his two hands laid bare before his view. It was a reminder that it would never come to pass. He was a man. And by that fact alone had rendered him ineligible for any participation. It was a shame. A thing he lamented. His interests had been sky-high ever since he knew the term, and it had never dwindled. Nobody would prohibit such interests, but one could reasonably ask why would he be willing to learn and be so knowledgeable about something like this? He had no kids, yet. In fact, judging that by the slightly roundish chin, the unwrinkled forehead and the pair of infinite blue galaxy filled with an eternity of questions, some of which would never be answered, would be the equivalent of saying your grandma is a world-famous disco dancer. Of course, that could actually happen, but you'd be a lot surprised to learn that he had only barely passed the legal age to drink.

So the question is: why should he care?

If you ask him directly, 'There isn't a rule for me to not be involved at all' would be his response. For simplicity's sake and perhaps to end this conversation. But life wasn't ever so simple. Simplicity would never be a reason for a man to pursue a PhD thesis topic on it. It would never be a reason for him to petition the Senshado Federation seven times to fund his research for that thesis. Never a reason for him to work sixty hours a week, something a full-time job worker never ever dreaded to have in their life. It had to be something more. But unfortunately, no one so far had delved so far into the junctions and tangled web of his sophisticatedly brilliant mind.

The cool summer wind combing through his short and neat jet black hair almost led to him falling asleep on the spot. The jet lag after having flown all the way from mainland Japan had been haunting him ever since he stepped a foot out of his country, and the feeling of having to sit on an economic class seat for hours was aggravating. Probably he could have a rest as soon as he arrived at the destination. The Turtle Bay Bootcamp. Ironically enough, it was not at a bay, but in a rural area close to the mountains. And it wasn't long until the guard towers began to emerge. And then the wide metal fences that surround the compound. And then the vast empty plain of the runway, the massive dome-like structure of the main building block that felt nothing like a training headquarter for Senshado practitioners, followed by an equally large rectangle box of glass paneled architecture hiding behind the main building. But he'd expect no less from a tankery team made up of some of the finest tankers of the country, funded by the federal state to function with some of the most highly advanced technology Japan could afford. And precisely the reason why he wanted to cooperate with these individuals.

The jeep soon made it past the gate upon a quick inspection with the female security guard. Despite having anticipated, and even welcoming, this guest of the campus, the surprise was written all over their faces. Not just because he was a boy in a very girl-dominant background, but also because she didn't expect the one to pursue a doctorate who the school had been rumoring about wasn't an old codger, but a melancholic looking young adult. And she wasn't the only one. As he made his way to the headmistress's office, he couldn't get through the hall or ask questions of the campus without a curious and most often flustered response from the girls. And sometimes not without certain malice burning onto the back of his neck. But nevertheless, the arrival at the headmistress's office on the top floor was particularly safely-warranted.

Taking a moment to adjust his own tie and checking his bag of all his necessities, he could feel the tension awaiting to devour his relatively frail five feet two body the moment he opens the door. He was, of course, to meet one of the people who had denied seven of his requests for funds. The question if she finally accepted this eighth time begrudgingly or voluntarily was not the point. To meet someone whom he had made a not so nice impression technically was going to be an awkward relationship. It all felt like his master's thesis defense again.

Mustering his courage, he took a step forward, his hands up as he knocked on the wooden door thrice.

"Come in." A mature female voice echoed out from the room.

He entered the room with a light and gentle push of the door, with his head slightly peeking in. Upon realizing the identity of the guests, to his surprise, the atmosphere of the room immediately brightened. The woman in the red suit at the far end of the room, sitting behind a well-refined wooden desk, upon glancing her hazel colored eyes at the small figure peeking behind the door immediately formed a smile that superseded her elegance and professionalism. She stood up from her chair as she walked over to the table nearby, on the while gesturing him to enter and make himself at home.

"Don't be shy. We've been expecting you." She calmly said, but nevertheless calmed the doctorate student down with her warm smile.

The heavy atmosphere was soon lifted, as he politely gave a light bow before taking a seat where she had told him to.

"Excuse my intrusion for today ma'am." He said. "If you'd allow me to introduce myself."

"We actually already know." She giggled slightly as she sat down as well, on the opposite side. "We wouldn't be able to miss the name of the man who had sent us requests seven times only to be turned down."

The way she stressed them out while still maintaining a joking manner of the subject matter made him look away in embarrassment

"So you are Michael Joule." She began, as she held a thin sheet of paper in her hands, to which the man before him nodded gently. "A graduate at Tokyo University, has a bachelor in engineering, and a master in physics. Now pursuing a doctorate in the latter."

She tilted her head around in great curiosity at this interesting detail.

"And with all of that, you're only eighteen years old." She said, both as questions and a remark.

"Yes ma'am." Michael replied. "I skipped grades pretty commonly, in a more positive sense."

"Oh. Then you'd find out that you aren't as strange as you think." The woman replied, her chord seemed to spring into life. "My daughter is also in university, but she's always been treated like a kid."

"Really ma'am?" Michael answered with surprise.

"Yeah. I'd introduce her to you soon, but for now, I want to know something else." She said.

"What would that be ma'am?"

"Just tell me a bit of the work that you're doing. You said the result may or may not change Senshado's future forever."

Her hazel eyes suddenly narrowed, like a knife trying to slice through a piece of butter. It wasn't beyond reasonable to ask such a question, and Michael was perfectly prepared for such a question. It was this woman's life work, and to discover a revelation that could potentially affect, create or destroy, it, it was like a wild animal reacting to a human the first time they meet him.

"You're right ma'am." Michael affirmed. "If my hypothesis is correct. But please rest assured, I am not here to dismantle Senshado in its any form. I believe in its values and cultural significance."

"Hmm. It's interesting to hear such words coming from the other side of the spectrum." She remarked, as she placed her index and thumb on her chin.

"My mother and sister are all Senshado practitioner" Michael replied but the tone seemed to lag away in the depths of thoughts. "That's why I'm quite influenced, and want to get involved. But I'm sure I'm getting off-track here."

Just as he finished that, he opened his bag and took out a large flat screened tablet. Powered up and unlocked, he handed it over to the woman. The number thirty popped up in the page number section. And before her a title echoed curiosity and a sense of directionlessness.

'Examining the property of the von Braun's molecule used in Senshado's armor in the subatomic level.'

She probably needed a lot of guidance. Do not get fooled though. The Shimada's family is a highly educated bloodline. Never once did a child carrying the gene running through their blood not finish a Bachelor at the least in academia, or its equivalent of not taking part in an international tankery competition. It was a prideful accomplishment. But this was just on a whole different level than hers. And after scrolling down to a heap of tables and graphs containing a few hundred variables, many of which didn't even make any sense to her, she had known her place.

"I've run a theoretical simulation. The molecule in the armor, constructed and mixed with steel is concentrated three micrometers behind the front side of the plate where it faces incoming enemy shells. The simplest example of its use is the spring coil, as the spring would absorb part of the forces and on the while returning some of the applied forces." Michael explained. "But the von Braun molecule does not deform the armor like a spring that compresses or expands, but in fact, it allows total absorption of forces of up to eighty-six percent, with the value Lambda and Rho accordingly are…"

And this was where she completely lost him. The moment she knew she was humbled. By an eighteen years old child. Is this who her daughter is gonna grow up to become?

"Sorry Mr Joule. I think you can spare your time and effort from explaining it to me." The woman politely interrupted Michael with a defeated laugh. "I've never felt so dense for a while."

"I was getting to the best part..." Michael pouted slightly but regained his composure as soon as it dwindled. "But basically I'm seeing if the property of these molecules can explain the recent accident."

"But I thought that was already attributed to faulty shells being the main cause." She questioned.

"I'm skeptical of that. As the armor is also supposed to play the role of protection as well with these shells. Eighty-six percent absorption rate is a big deal." He answered. "And it didn't just happen out of a random chance. There are certain conditions that have been met for it to happen."

"And that is?" She pressed on.

"I'm finding that out." And he deflected. "If I have already opened the treasure chest, that thesis would have had twice that length."

The woman silently nodded. It wasn't very clear if it was worth doing this over something that had been resolved a while ago. Still, thirty pages full of these complex experiments and tight manhandled conditions that allowed an accuracy no less than hitting a target with a tank from two kilometers away. She didn't know who would not, but it was enough a filter in terms of genuity for her.

"Alright. I'm convinced." The woman handed the tablet back. "The rest of your detail we've already been informed by your supervisor."

"That means…"

"Yeah, we'll arrange your accommodation here as soon as possible." The woman stood up. "Our contract is therefore in effect."

It was the brightest news of the day for him.

"Oh thank you ma'am!" Michael also stood up with a bright beam on his face and an offering handshake. "I'm glad to be contributing to this cause."

"No problem." She gladly accepted the handshake. "And please." Then she pulled out of her breast pocket a small card and handed it over to Michael. "Give me a notification if something comes up."

The card reads the name of the institution, the headmistress's contact information before a larger orange-red ink printed her identity out loud: Chiyo Shimada; Japan's Senshado Federation; Head of the All-Star University Team.

"Thank you…Mrs Shimada. I'll keep in mind."

"My daughter will later take you on a campus tour. I've already notified her." Chiyo gave another smile, all before it vanished in a second like vapors in the air. "But then again, I would like to remind you that we only agree this stay to be a research partnership. I don't want to see anything of yours that go beyond that agreement."

It couldn't help but strike the head of the Shimada family as worrying when the doctoral student that she agreed to let in a girl's sanction is not an established and mature adult, but a male teenager. A prodigious perhaps, well-refined from a Senshado's family, but she was under no delusions about what could happen when teenagers of opposite genders are placed close to each other.

Michael was a little taken aback by the sudden one hundred and eighty-degree turn of mood. But then again, it was in a mother's instinct to protect their children.

"Yes ma'am. You need not to remind me twice." He replied decisively.

"Good."

Feeling a sense of reassurance, the woman sat back down. The atmosphere lightened, but the aura lingered for long even until the knock on the door awakened the occupants of yet another guests. Immediately after, a young female voice came from behind.

"Okaa-san. I'm here."

"Come in."

Chiyo did not lose her normal composure, despite both sides knowing who was behind the wooden door. The door swung open to reveal, not a tall sister-like university student that Michael had expected, but a small little girl. Not even his height, but nearly a head shorter, the girl seemed so pale with that soft white skin. Something told this prodigious student that she wasn't even his age also. The pair of light brown twin-tails dancing around her shoulders with every step of the way. And yet that uniform: the dark-grey notched jacket over a white collared shirt and a black tie, along, and especially, with the beret on top. She is a student here? No wonder why Chiyo said he wasn't so strange here, and that she was treated like a kid. She looked like a kid.

The hazel eyes that matched her mother seemed like it was to never change. But it did the moment she saw the elephant sitting in the room. Surprise would be an oversimplification. As she approached her mother, she tried to evade eye contact as much as possible, while her steps didn't seem consistent it looked just silly.

"Allow me to introduce to you, this is my daughter Alice. Alice Shimada." Chiyo then turned over to the young girl. "Alice, this is Michael. From today, he shall be staying with all of you temporarily according to a partnership contract with Tokyo University."

Alice's eyes couldn't hide the surprise she felt, but she soon connected the dot. The rumors turned out to be true. But still, it did little to diminish it. She looked exactly the same as her mother when the identity of this man was revealed.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms Shimada." Michael again offered a handshake.

"Ah…" It took her a while to formulate a response, as her eyes couldn't brake into anything in sight that she could look at. Especially when unlike her, Michael knew where to look at. "I-It's a pleasure to meet you too…Mr…"

"No need to be formal, call me Joule or Michael. Honorifics are fine by me." He said.

"Then…Joule-san?" She quietly uttered, to which he gladly nodded. "…I guess you can call me Shimada-san. If you don't mind…"

"Sure." Michael replied. "Shimada-san."

Immediately, just as her eyes were briefly locked with his, the key broke the chain, as she looked to her sides flusteringly.

"Ok, I guess our meeting today is finished. Since I won't be here every day all day, it would be best if you give us a call if it is an urgent request. We'll let you know once your room is finished. In the meantime" Chiyo said. "Alice, if you don't mind giving Joule here a tour of the campus."

"Ah…" Again, the hesitation. 'Why me?' she thought to herself. It was easy to ask her closest associate, but she had barely interacted with a boy around her age group, let alone showing him the compound. But her hope to weasel away from this, which was already thin to begin with, was crushed into a zero-dimensional object as soon as her mother left the office, briefly perhaps.

* * *

Left alone with the newcomer, she had no choice but to toughen up and carry out the trip. First she led him through to the various blocks belonging to different universities across Japan, some even international. This team was special in the fact that the students are not a part of a single university but from different corners of the country unified under one banner of the band of the finest Senshado candidates to participate in the National League. Despite having Senshado as the primary activity of the institution, the universities also needed to ensure a proper education of other subjects, so that tanks aren't the only thing in their mind, especially when they are out of tankery at certain phases of their lives. It did give the sense of eliteness whenever he walked pass these blocks as he imagined himself in their shoes.

But it wasn't easy walking through these blocks without attracting the attention of the students around. Again. And this was definitely not helped by the fact that Alice was switching off into a monotonic state and wasn't even trying to strike up a conversation with him, and for good reasons viewed from her perspective.

"Psst." If she didn't do that, then he probably had to. "Shimada-san."

"Huh?" Alice suddenly stopped and turned around. "Y-Yes?"

"When can I actually have a proper introduction to everybody?" He asked. "Looks like many of them are having good questions that need to be answered."

"Whenever you want basically. I can even organize a gathering right now if you need." Alice replied.

"Well…" Michael probably did not need it that far. "As soon as you see fit."

At that moment, she looked a little troubled, furrowing her brows a bit.

"...Maybe this evening once everybody is done with their training…If that's alright with you."

"Of course."

Without much of a response, Alice turned around and continued on with her cold and silent mode. As boring as it may sound, this was the routine that she took for the entirety of the tour as they scoured through the training ground, the tank's garage and the other campus's facilities. Only until the final location on the list, the dormitory did it finally break.

"And this is the dormitory, where we are if not at school. If I'm not mistaken, you'd be staying in room 2343." Alice said. "Every room has their own private bathroom, toilet, and refrigerator. Wifi, electricity and water are all covered for you."

"Replenishment?" Michael asked.

"Yes, but only necessities. Not anything like snacks."

"I see. You guys sure live comfortably for university students."

Again, no response but a glance away.

"By the way, where do you live in this dorm? Just curious."

Michael's question immediately prompted a myriad of different emotions from the thirteen-year-old, surely different from when the usual preplanned speech that she did before. She felt blood rushing all over her face as her eyes were hammered onto the carpet floor in embarrassment.

"R…Room 2341…"

"Oh, we're neighbors." Michael said with a slight smile. "I hope we can get along well."

"...L-L-Likewise." She stuttered, her eyes briefly glancing up.

'It probably would take a bit of time.' Michael thought to himself as she struggled to formulate even the simplest of response to such a social conversation, or basically any conversation that does not involve technical memorization. But he could always see the struggle behind it. Having been that smartass in class who had nothing in his mind but graphs and equations, friends were a relatively small circle for Michael, and teachers sometimes didn't help with expanding that radius; sometimes they even alienated him. It was only until his post-secondary education that he managed to find his home and develop his ability to communicate with people properly. And while he did not know her personally, he could definitely relate to it.

As the two was standing in the hallway of the dorm, a silhouette of an older woman wearing what seemed to be the facility's worker uniform appeared out of a room at the end of the hallway and approached the two. She turned out to be the one of those who are preparing Michael's dorm room sent by Chiyo, informing him that the room was still under preparation, but he could enter at will.

"Well, I guess I'll see if my luggage has been unpacked." Michael said. "I'll see you this evening at the gathering."

Alice looked at Michael for a while before awkwardly turning around and ran down the hall, her eyes closed. Pretty cute he could say.

After Alice left, Michael went into the room where the worker had just came out of. The place where he would call home turned out to be quite a comfy one. Obviously larger than his old apartment when he was doing his undergraduate degree, but a reasonable medium sized bedroom. In addition to the fridge acting also as a bedside table, the bathroom at the other corner of the room, there was also a queen-size bed, an embedded wardrobe, a coffee table, and an armchair. TV, lamp, kettle, and even an alarm clock for fuck's sake. Everything, with the exception of kitchen utilities, was all present. Is this really an institution's dormitory? Michael would call it a 4-star hotel room, and he wouldn't be judged for such a remark.

"Well, there's a reason why they don't accept fundings so easily."

To live this luxuriously, it would have to be heaven or an insanely rich entrepreneur. Michael wouldn't imagine himself in this position ever. To walk this path meant a lot of financial sacrifice, but guess the effort and perseverance paid off. Well for now…

Noticing next to his bed was his two suitcases lining up against one another and hugging the wall, Michael instead took out his laptop and booted his documents. He could leave the unpacking later. He needed a bit of rest, and perhaps to plan a bit ahead. Even though he would have quite a bit of time here, it wasn't at all a long-term commitment. There were still constraints and deadline in the contract, and he would have to leave when the time comes. It would be best to get started as soon as possible.

As he booted up his cloud files, and in turn scouring through some recent news article, he noticed one of the articles in one of the city's most popular mass media.

'The recent shell defects and the incident of the 57th Senshado Tournament. Is the sport as safe as we think?'

A long sigh was ensured to follow.

He need not taper in these articles. Looking at the author of the article, he knew it wasn't a well-qualified scientist or a professional, but a moral entrepreneur. He wasn't strange to these types of people. They were right in that regard, but they were probably trying to appeal to the abolishment of Senshado by trying to instill some sort of panic in the public. He knew this too well.

But most and foremost, it just wasn't good memories…

Michael closed the browser. Before him then was his desktop, containing some of his old project files, a few games and some arithmetic application shortcuts. But behind them all was a wallpaper, one that he hadn't changed for years. A young boy in his early adolescent, wearing a suit and a tie, and a silver medal hanging around his neck, standing proudly in front of a fountain. And next to him was an older girl in a red coat and black skirts. A shoulder-length black-haired girl that could outshine the sun any day. The glasses in front of her eyes magnified the burning passion in her eyes as she held a red flag with a golden tank embellishment in her two hands, while she crouched right next to him.

"I'm close…" Michael muttered, his breath holding weight. "You said I'm always right about everything I say."

Then he could definitely find a way to protect these girls. And he need not be a tanker himself.

Michael opened the web browser yet again, but this time he went directly onto the cloud storage instead of wandering reading the newspaper. He ought not to get distracted.

* * *

**Yeah, this is a little unconventional idea that I came up with. I like some of the fics involving boy's school and Co-Ed Senshado, but I don't want to simply follow the trend. While coming up with ideas for this GuP fic, I was thinking of how can I make my OC be involved in Senshado without being a female and have to go through the whole Co-Ed thing. How can I make my male OC be active in Senshado while maintaining its girls-only rule. And I figure he can be a person who is studying how the system works (they aren't thoroughly explored as well for some reasons), and because of that he can get close to the girls despite not being a member. I don't know if you are at all interested in this idea, since the center of the fic will not be tank combat, but rather technical (and a little made-up) stuff about tanks and the motivations behind some of the characters, though there will definitely be multiple tank combat scenes to look forward to. If you like it then feel free to leave a review telling me. If you don't then also feel free to tell me. **

**Thanks for tuning in for this story and hopefully I will be encouraged to write more of this in the future.**


	2. Chapter 2: A Sword Between the Flowers

**Hey guys. After seeing the receptions to the story, I'm quite happy to be seeing such positive responses to such a weird idea such as this one. And you probably would want to hear that I will begin to carve out a fully fledged story for this one. It'll be quite some time before the next chapter can finish though, since I write two stories at the same time, while having university work at hand. But I'm now inspired to expand on this crazy idea that I came up one day on the bus to university. I appreciate your patience, and I'll try to keep my quality top-notch to befit the waiting time. **

**For the two initial reviews, I have to say you two are the primary reasons why I want to keep on going with this story (though I really appreciate the other 3 favs and 4 follows). Your advices are well-noted. I do want to build on more of the GuP universe on the more technical point of view, but I'll make sure not to make it too difficult to understand (I'm not a physics genius lol, nor do I have a PhD in anything, though I want to pursue one in the future), and to also build a nice and meaningful storyline out of the world building process. Though I do drop a lot of physics and science references scattered in the two chapters, like how GuP like to drop tank trivia. **

**Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you once more for your support. You don't need to give receptions now as I have decided to continue on with this one, but if you have any thoughts that you wanna let me know, or that you are truly interested and want to follow, then feel free to. Any support is much appreciated.**

* * *

Chapter 2: A Sword Between the Flowers

'Gather…everyone…after…training.'

The Shimada heir was making quick notes on her handheld tablet as she quickly walked down the hallway to the dorm exit. Her hands clicked gently on the flat fragile screen, but her finger dances were oddly off. The soft fingertip missed the key she needed by a margin, forcing Alice to quickly click backspace to erase her mistake. It was confusing, and she didn't know why.

Still hadn't gotten over that awkward trip she just led the campus's new guest through, she wondered if the guy was actually satisfied with what she did, or he was just being the polite person that she first impressed. Reality was indeed catching up to her. Alice had always been considered a genius and an adult in a child's costume, and she took it to heart. She never liked it when she was treated otherwise. But a genius she was that she couldn't do a simple task by herself: a simple task of just talking eloquently. And an adult she was that she began to feel out of it when her mother left her alone in the room with him. The fact that she had never been exposed to anyone like this ever before since she made that jump from elementary school just came back to slap her right in the face, that out there was a different world than hers.

Aside from that, there was also the question about him too. She knew he was a doctoral candidate, quite a figure in his own university, but she never knew the humbleness of his stature, the youthful roundish chin and the absorbent jet black hair that took in so vast the knowledge of humankind in such a short period of time. No one could relate to in this small but not so small compound. No one but Alice. How old is he? Is he nice? He looks nice, but is it just politeness? And will he be nice after that sloppy attempt to welcome the one guest that her mother has already told her about, that she should have known? Uncertainty began to flood in like a broken dam.

"Oiii, Commander!"

Alice quickly exited the dorm, traveled over to the training ground and rendezvoused with the three girls standing in front of the tank formation - three of her most trusted battle companion on the battlefield. Three who proudly distinguished themselves as what they called the Bermuda Trio on the pyramid of the team. Three great foundations to a grand structure ready to take on the world of tankery.

"Good afternoon Commander. How are you doing today?" One of the members of the trio, Megumi, politely greeted the team captain. The Saunders alumnae's long and neatly maintained dark brown-hair illuminated the stark contrast of the impression of any Saunder students may give to the knowledgeable. One could have thought she was a St Gloriana's elegant flower instead, and he would be absolutely forgivable.

Alice stopped to catch some breathe before replying with a light smile and a nod.

"Your face is red Commander." The energetic of the blue sky, Rumi, was surprisingly subverted for this particular moment, as she adjusted her glasses with one hand. "Are you alright?"

"Do you think she's alright?" But the remaining member of the Bermuda Trio, Azumi, knew better. But instead of concern, her voice smoothened like a piece of bubblegum. "You know, after such an intimate session with him…"

One could never fully describe the increasingly heating expression on the young commander's face. That phrase, the index finger on her lips and that deceitful look. She knew. And that's where the amusement takes place.

"Him?!" It wasn't just Alice who was mortified. "Commander?! When do you actually have a boyfriend?!"

"Why didn't you tell us, Commander?!"

"Hey, what about the intimate part? What does that imply?!"

"And all of this went under our radar…"

And all of this was occurring right under Alice's nose, as her jaws were on the floor, her cheeks were red hot and eyes shrinking into nothingness. And as the orange-haired sub-commander was on the verge of bursting into a spree of laughter.

"I was joking. I was joking" Azumi waved her hand playfully. "But I'm pretty sure you guys know who I am talking about."

"Who?" Rumi was confused at first.

"Our new guest." And Azumi had to clarify

"Oh, you mean the research contract that coach Shimada mentioned?" Megumi identified. "It's a he? That's unexpected."

"Yeah, I thought anything Senshado related is female from the word go." Azumi said. "Until I saw him with the Commander today."

"Oooohhh." Both ladies were ecstatic from the remark. "So, how does he look?"

"Hmm. Pretty smart-looking I'd say. Very befitting for a man his stature." Azumi said. "Though he looks really…young. Probably not even our age."

"And he's already a researcher? Hmmm seems like he's our Commander's…" Rumi couldn't finish her sentence before being cut off.

"Everyone." And surprisingly by a stern-looking Alice, who had recovered from the whole fiasco. "We have training in ten. We don't want to be late."

"Yes, Commander." The trio did not resist. It was a rather strange sight to see a girl worth their youngest sister taking charge and giving out orders like that. But then again, universities are a strange environment. There were no more clear lines and criteria to call each other senpai and kohai anymore, and people like Alice and Michael would be a prime example for breaking the social norm. Not that it was enjoyable for any of them, especially when facing reality a little too soon for an aged mind.

* * *

On the topic of Michael, the man, for the next hour or two had been relatively unproductive. Yawns plagued his cheek muscle as the sense of misplacement was all over him. He'd be damned if he got anything done at this point, aside from a short conclusion to his most recent experiments. Sometimes he wished that could spend a lot more time on academy ships rather than on land. Ever since entering graduate school, his department had grounded him in one location for years, and sometimes in one single room in a single building. Undergraduate was his only time, and it ended too shortly for him comparing to now. And the discomfort of the plane trip he was on from mainland Japan had stretched his sleep to its elastic limit. The hypnotism of the bed began to feel so alluring.

"Alright, I've had enough…"

He closed the browser and powered down his laptop. Sitting in one spot while his eyes were lifting weights was a recipe for falling asleep on the keyboard and an eight hundred pages word document. But he could not if he was standing. Maybe a walk would at least keep his mind up until night comes.

As he would also be having a proper introduction to the ladies, Michael did not change out of his suits as he left the room. Heading out to the hallway to the huge campus, the silence and emptiness felt like a scene out of an apocalyptic movie, seeing how it was so packed two hours ago. It really was a Senshado's institution after all. While everybody may have their own classes at times, it was these periods that the student's intention and goals were all united in the one job of commandeering a tank properly, skillfully and deadly.

Michael walked over to the courtyard of the compound. After finding it to be empty as well, he headed over to the side gate, where he was instructed to go to the control building. A relatively small box-shaped piece of concrete slabbed together and placed an antenna and a disk on top. Rather unimpressive comparing to the majestic grandiose of the rest of the campus, but as Michael approached the open front door, his impression was immediately revived from the dead.

The interior was arrays of modern computers and equipment lining up neatly parallel to each other neatly, facing two huge screens that stood over seven times the height of the average man of the age. One showcased a map of different tank icons of different colors and types moving around on the map and a list on the side listing out what those tanks were. The other screen was basically projecting angles of the battlefield where battle was taking places.

Any unimpressive remarks Michael may have before turned immediately into regrets. Even the computers were using some of the finest operating systems, and, judging by the looks of it, were probably stuffed with some crazy designer's graphics cards. Even the computer department in his university didn't have this modernity of facilities. No wonder this was a place for only the bests of the best. The price to keep these infrastructures up must be crazy.

"Excuse my intrusion." Michael gently knocked on the open door, as suddenly, all the operators from their own workstation turned around. A little baffled, though their work did not allow them to run astray, so they went back to their work immediately. The only exception being a young girl with two long brown braids in the nearest station to the door who stood up politely to face him directly.

"Uh, may I help you, mister?"

The demeanor certainly caught Michael's attention. It seemed to strike deep in his cortex, in a forgotten chord that he hadn't touched for years. That double braids that extended down to her waist, that bright gold eyes, and especially that Kyushu dialect. Deja vu? It seemed like this wasn't the first time they were face to face.

"Oh, I wonder if it is alright if I can spectate the match in this room." But nevertheless, he decided not to press it.

"...But who are you, to begin with?"

Mrs. Shimada hadn't informed these individuals yet, he supposed. Well, it was a little early to set out so he didn't really blame them.

"Michael Joule. Temporary research partner with the Turtle Bay Institution from the Department of Physics, Tokyo University."

It was a little long to explain, as the girl appeared to stand in the midst of the process. But those close to the door also turned around to both the name and the purpose.

"Tokyo Uni…Oh! I've heard of that from…"

"Coach Shimada, isn't she?" Michael completed it for her. "Yes, I just met her this morning."

"Oh, t-then please excuse our impoliteness, Joule-sama." The girl seemed to realize something far more serious than she initially registered.

"No worries." Michael waved his hand in response. "And please, you need not call me that. I'm not that senior anyway."

"Then, Joule-san?" She hesitantly replied, to which Michael simply nodded with a smile. "And please have a seat at…uh…at the back, if you don't mind."

Another nod, another smile before Michael walked to where the girl had pointed toward. Along the way, he could feel glances and whispers sent his way. They were curious individuals indeed, but he didn't pay them much attention. Sitting down comfortably behind one of the empty computer stations, Michael looked upon one of the screens projected.

"Nine M4 Sherman, four Panthers and two Jagdpanthers each side."

That was what was said on the screen. Despite growing up in a tank heavy culture, being influenced by many inside and outside, knowing the shape of each tank, Michael found this task to be a headscratcher. Which one was the better one? He'd assume the Sherman? Since they use more of that, and they seem to be pretty common around. Jagdpanthers were probably less useful, since they don't have a turret, and seems pretty sluggish. But then again, they may just be the elite tank people like to use. A pretty neat case of subject mismatch. To him, this sounded more economy than physics or mathematics.

'_Though Alice may be present in this match. Is she here?' _Michael thought to himself as he scanned through the top left corner of the screen. Sitting right in the fourth slot on the first list, commanding a Panther tank. But to his interest, right beside the name was a crown symbol, glowing brightly like a sore thumb.

"Commander? Wow…"

A thirteen years old commander of perhaps over a few hundred university students. Not middle school or even high school, but university. Being a participant in this elite tank crew was already a prideful enough fact, but to hold the baton too. He wasn't indeed too far away from home.

Tracing the number on the list to the different tank icons on the screen, Michael identified Alice's position as that one tank moving at the near corner of the map. Through the green heap of circles and ovals overlapping on each other that he presumed was a symbol for a densely forested area. Along with her was another Panther, attempting to cut through a group of five Shermans of the opposite color. It looked like a pretty risky move. Going one against two and a half was a little daunting, even if the opponent seemed small and easy-picking. But if they did go through the five Shermans, the centre of Alice's opposite team would be in a pretty sticky situation. With the current speed, acceleration and path of motion, they would pounce on the five tanks in three, two, one…

All of a sudden, the two tanks stopped. A few seconds of silence ensued, as the screen failed to capture the full beauty of tank combat. The other camera was too focused on the main battle fighting over a small hill. But they were forced to switch as soon as a voice of Kyushu dialect rang out from the corner of the operating room

"Team A's M4 Sherman tank number zero eight has been disabled."

Not mentioned by whom, but inside the operating room, he could see it. Below the tank's list and their commanders were the battle log, written in different colors representing each team. And the most recent entry read: Panther I (3) M4 Sherman (8).

Not much longer would the next log appeared, and that Kyushu dialect rang out again.

"Team A's M4 Sherman tank number zero nine has been disabled."

And again: Panther I (3) M4 Sherman (9)

At this moment, the camera controller was compelled to switch the camera over to the raging Panther. Or rather its next victim. The Panther was nowhere to be seen, only deductible by the muzzle of one of the surviving Shermans trying to land a hit on them. A flash of light blinded the camera before a thin light zipped through the air and into the dark forest, swallowed by the darkness. The battle log did not have anything new from Panther number three, so the shell could be assumed to have done little to affect it.

And then another flash of light. This time coming right from the depths of the forest. A sleek silhouette appeared like a shadow before disappearing with the acute light source. A haunting symbol before a shell coming from that same light flash smashed into the Sherman, completely stopping it in its movement. Smoke emitted from the tank, and within the smoke, a white flag popped from its turret.

"Team A's M4 Sherman number six has been disabled."

The battle log appended. Yet another kill from the third Panther of team B, making the other Panther trecking alongside it looked like a dumb wallflower. Though it still secured a kill after another brief exchange of firepower, before both of them moved on with their objective.

"Now they have free reign over the flanks…"

What a cunning, devilish yet spectacular move. That could have turned way worse for Alice. Michael would probably have never done such a thing if he was in that hatch. But what does an eighteen years old physicist from Tokyo, know about tactics? These girls had been trained all their lives, while he was simply being the ethnocentric fellow standing on the sideline, to be reminded that his expertise wasn't, and never would be, this.

His arms guarded his side, Michael observed. He knew the tank's armor was coated with a specially made carbon material, containing the von Braun's molecules. Yet it wasn't an invincible material. Eighty-six percent absorption rate is a big deal, but there were limits. Yet calibers of weapons in this sport seemed to be unlimited. So it would make sense if the higher the caliber of the weapon, the more likely it is to cause serious damage to the vehicle and the crew. And here mean actual life-threatening damages.

The question itself sounded self-defeating though. A smartass could always reply with 'Because it is league-sanctioned ammunition, specially made for personal safety' and be done with. But Michael was never to be satisfied. The answer to that could have been settled years ago. He knew it perfectly clear himself. But what was in their so-called 'league-sanctioned' ammunition? What made them so safe without any regards to gun caliber? And what caused them to actually break its legendary one hundred percent casualty rate, five times? Starting with the incident of the 57th Senshado Tournament.

He glanced to the screen once again. The group of two Panthers had gone past their engagement point and had reached the edge of the forest. Any further and their concealments would be completely gone. But they never squandered their chances when they lifted the veil to their true beauty and wrath. Their flanking thrust began, but Michael's awed reaction had gone old. Instead, he watched as other tanks in team A scrambled in shock. Every single shot that landed directly. Every shot that enabled the pop of that signature white flag. He did not expect the answer to those questions to pop up immediately on the screen like spoonfeeding, especially the last question, but it was always worth it to watch, to observe.

"Hmm."

The battle raged on, yet the outcome went in one eye and out the other for Michael. Even as Alice's tank scored continuous kills one after another, the physicist no longer cared. The beholder's eyes were now on the explosions. The cloud of smoke that emitted every time a shot landed. That clunk of movement when the tank was hit. If he could get just something out of it. But as expected. He did not get much. At all? Perhaps not for now. It could just spring at him at any moment. Just not now, and he better be armed.

Before he knew it, the last observable explosion was also the last shell fired on the battlefield. And to be heard from miles away, the voice from the very same corner of the room echoed out.

"Training match complete. The winning team is Team B!"

Then from the other corner of the room, another female voice rang into the microphone.

"The final training session for today has been completed. Surviving tanks may return to the hangar."

It probably was his time to go now.

Michael stood up from his chair and walked over to the front door. But before he made his exit, he made his existence known to the girl in braids once again.

"Thanks for letting me in today. It is an enlightening experience."

The girl, who just placed her headphone down tiredly, stood up all unprepared.

"N-No problem, Mr…wait, Joule-san. I'm glad we could be of help to you."

'_Well not really.' _He rolled his eyes in irony, but still maintained a polite smile on his face.

"I'll be sure to come back in the future, so I hope you guys would take care of me." Michael said.

"Likewise." She replied.

"What's your name by the way?"

She fiddled around with her headphone a little before letting a little mutter out of her small lips.

"Aimi. Aimi Taneka."

Taneka? That sounded familiar as well. Did he pass by that name before?

"Taneka-san…Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you." Michael lightly inclined forward before turning away with a wave. "I'll be going to let people know I exist in this institution now. I'll see you later."

"See you later."

He could hear her dim goodbye as he opened and closed the door. That dialect and that attitude couldn't be mistaken, but hell, where and when did he actually meet her before all of this? God damn it, his memory was never good when he needed it.

* * *

Knowing where the girls would probably end up, Michael, still vividly remember the direction from the tour he was given earlier that day, made his way there actively, even before the first tank even returned. His back laid against one of the giant hangar's walls near the door, watching as columns of tanks that survived the white flag gradually rolled through the gates. To his own insignificance of stature comparing to the Shermans and Panthers, it was a significance of a lifetime as one of the rare times he had stood right in front of a working and functioning battle machine. And the first time the ladies here ever witnessed a man in their institution.

The leading tank was Alice's. Recognizable because of her petite silhouette popping out of the hatch, he wondered why she was the only one. Yes? No, he was wrong; there were three more. The ones at the very back of the columns.

Her eyes were drifting to her clock like a pendulum, waiting and anxious if she'd miss her time for her favorite Boko show. It was to set only twenty minutes after dismissal. She had to hurry otherwise she'd miss it. But no, she already promised Michael that she was gonna have everyone gather around. It'd take long. She'd miss the show! Oh no, she should have set the recorder in her room! Now she could only hope that the guy would conclude it quickly so that she could leave soon.

Their eyes suddenly met, as Alice finally realized that Michael was already there. And it broke just as soon as she does. His wave of greetings, how come could it be so natural? Was that a common thing here? She knew it between friends like her sub-commanders, but he wasn't friends. She just met him a few hours ago. She barely knew if he liked her or not. She barely knew anything about him. How could he wave so casually? What could she respond with? What was expected of her to reply?…

To Michael though, it strangely was a hard press. She was indeed shy. Too shy beyond his expectation. Though what height would he need to lower the bar to? The physicist decided to look over to the rest of the tank columns, watching as they orderly parked in front of the hangar. As soon as that was done, the ladies began to disembark from the vehicle and lined up in front of them. Uneven lines though, extrinsically. And who else was the reason they were full of conversations right then?

"Please be quiet everyone." To Michael, he saw one of the girls, a brunette, from the column's back tank, quickly trying to settle down everyone. Then she looked over to Alice, the only person who knew the full detail.

It took quite a while before Alice actually exited, as she disappeared into the tank for a short while. But after she made her way down from the giant machine, Alice calmly walked to the front of the formation, standing upright to the attention.

"E-Everyone." She began. "From today, we have a new…uhh…supervisor for our Senshado training and activities. Please, Joule-san…"

Alice turned over to Michael standing at the other end of the tanks, facing the curious group of girls as he took a step up.

"I'm not exactly a supervisor though." He said to Alice, a little jokingly. "Although my job does look like one."

He cleared his throat before starting.

"So good evening everyone. My name is Michael Joule. I am currently pursuing my doctoral degree in physics at Tokyo University. My specialty is in kinetic physics. As some of you may have heard already, I am in a partnership with coach Shimada, in which my job would mainly be conducting tests and experiments regarding tank armors and shells, so because of that, I would kindly ask you if you don't mind participating in some of them if needed."

He let a moment pass for that to sink in, and for any questions to arise. Unsurprisingly, a couple of hands showed up.

"What do we get from participating?" One of the girls asked.

"It'll be noted down, and the coach will put it in your recommendation, and I think you'd have higher chances to be listed in the International team. I'm not too certain about the latter part, so you can ask Mrs. Shimada if you want clarification." He explained.

The reactions were quite mixed. Some were quite ecstatic, while some were just indifferent, and a little not too impressed by the deal. Michael wasn't too surprised though. This was probably a little abrupt for them, and considering the difference in chromosome was still the barrier that they would have to break down before any meaningful connection could be made. He'd probably need a bit of time.

"Other than that, you can still ask me anything, any questions if you have any." Michael said with a friendly smile. It wouldn't hurt to show some goodwill. "I don't bite. I'll try to help you best as I can."

Murmurs continued to circle around the formation. But no questions were voiced publicly. Way until everyone was dismissed. Only then would the more curious members of the All-star team step up and approach their new guest and friend.

"Hello." One of them was a shapely woman, towering over the young physicist as she curiously offered Michael a handshake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Joule-san. My name is Azumi. You can feel free to call me directly that."

"...I'm Rumi." Then came from the side was a four-eyed lady, with bright blue hair, strangely shy from her usual counterpart. "I-It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Before Michael could reply to both, one also came from the other side of him. This time was the brown-haired girl who attempted to settle everyone down earlier.

"I'm Megumi." She smiled brightly. "I hope you'd enjoy your stay here in our training institution."

Michael was a little confused over the constant bombardment of introduction, and to be surrounded from all three sides. Before anything, he took a step back to face all of them at once.

"So Azumi-san, Rumi-san, and Megumi-san." Michael referred to the ladies by turn. "I'll definitely try to keep it in mind. It's not easy sometimes, considering I have a lot to remember. But anyway, thank you for your kind welcome."

"And we hope to be in your care too." Megumi bowed slightly. "I hope you can forgive our ladies. They aren't familiar with a boy, nor participating in anything like this."

"No, I'll take my time." Michael raised his hand in defense. "It's not as quickly considering many of them grow up in a girl-dominant environment. To be honest, I think that can be a liability."

"You understand our culture pretty well." Azumi replied. "It's true. I didn't grow up with many boys. Though my circle of friend is broad, so I don't mind that."

"Rumi was brought up home-schooled, and she was in an all girl's high school." Megumi's polite aura dropped, as she grew more teaseful. "So you can see she's a little sheepish around you."

"Hey stop it!" The one in question yelled out but quickly retracted herself when Michael turned around to her. Her cheeks went bright pink as she looked down, and a curious smile and a finger were brought on Michael's chin. She wasn't any different from Alice for this particular moment. Much less in degree, but it was most people's day of firsts, so it was expected really.

"It's alright Rumi-san, I won't judge. I would probably do the same if this is my first." Michael gently approached. "You can take time all you want. But if you need any help from me, anything-"

"N-No, I think we should be the one saying that to you, J-Joule-san." Rumi responded, stutteringly. "We should be the one helping you with stuff around."

"Well, what goes around comes around." Michael replied. "I like it best."

"My, how noble of you, Joule-san." Azumi's voice sweetened. Though that did little to entertain the man. Too corny for his taste

"I was expected to by the way. By the nature of this job I'm doing, there's little personal gain." Michael shrugged his shoulders before pointing at Azumi. "I won't serve takers like you though."

"Haha, sorry." Azumi promptly retreated. "Though I'll probably need some help with my academic assignments."

"Sure." Michael agreed without hesitations. "I'm getting a little hungry now. Is the cafeteria opened yet?"

"It should be." Megumi turned around. "It is open from early morning till late night. But we can go together."

"Sounds like a great idea." Michael said. "How about we invite Shimada-san over too? Shima-…where is she?"

When he had finally noticed what was up, Alice was already nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, she rarely ever joins us for dinner." Azumi said. "She has a favorite TV show that is always on every day at this hour, so she's probably gone."

"I see." Michael nodded with an input. Curious as well. "Still, four of us can still make dinner great. Let's go."

* * *

"So Joule-san. How is your impression of our campus so far?" Megumi asked as soon as all four of them had gotten their share of dinner in the cafeteria.

"Pretty good I'd initially say." Michael replied. "The infrastructure is amazing even to my own standard."

"Your own standard? My are you a rich noble boy?" Azumi giggled teasingly.

"Well do you expect an Olympiad medalist to go selling drugs on the street?" Michael returned with a sarcastic quip. "Don't believe what anime shows you alright?"

"Wait, you have an Olympic medal? In which sport?" Rumi, being the more silent one, suddenly exclaimed with wide eyes.

"No no it wasn't a sport. It was the Physics Olympiad six years ago in London." Michael clarified. "I got a silver medal then."

"Six years ago? How old were you then?" Even Azumi's playful tone had turned into a pitch of shock.

"Twelve." He said. "I know, it's unusual. You can spare that in private."

"Wait, if you're twelve six years ago, then you're still three years younger than us?" Megumi shockingly said. "Wow, that made me feel so nervous and inferior, even though I'm still older than you."

"Maybe we should consider calling you Joule-kun or Joule-chan instead heh?" Then again, the sweet undertone reemerged.

"Academically, I'm still a senior to you all." But he wasn't amused. "Oh, hey, maybe I should make you call me senpai or sensei instead. I have always wanted to assert my obvious dominance over everyone here."

"Ahaha, I'll pass." Azumi conceded with an innocent laugh.

"But my my, it's hard to imagine working with another genius in this institution." Remarked Megumi with respect. "But about Senshado? I'm curious, what drives you to choose us as research partnership? Or is it about something else?"

"No it is about Senshado." Michael confirmed, as he glanced sideway with a troubled twerk of lips. "I've been interested for a long time, but couldn't really get involved."

"Really?" Rumi said. "…For how long exactly?"

"...Ever since my older sister took part in tankery." He scratched his head in response, to get the strain off his two furrowing eyebrows. "In fact, I think my sister is my strongest force of attraction for me to Senshado."

"She sounds like an interesting person." Megumi remarked, to which Michael gave a a nod as he stared in the distance. "Where is she now?"

"Uhh…" Michael stroke his cheeks lightly, his uncertain eyes for scientific validity became yet uncertain again. "She's currently studying at a vocational school right now, after she graduated."

"Oh, she's not participating in Senshado anymore?" Azumi asked, genuinely curious.

"...Not as often as she used to. She has her reasons."

The eighteen years old suddenly sighed. The thin veil of air strangely dampened the excitement of a new and intriguing person with an unseen yet casually pressured down on their own breathe like a weight.

"Uh…" Megumi wasn't the only person to notice, but she was certainly the first to speak. "But I guess she's already passed the torch onto you. Though it is a shame that Senshado is female-only so that you have to be involved so indirectly."

"...Well, I do remember that there are co-eds proposals, but are all turned down by the Federation." Rumi said. "Tradition still wins I guess."

Michael simply shrugged. Though it was hard to make his mind up of which sides to take on this matter. He believed in its spiritual values taught to young maidens, but it couldn't be denied that to exclude half of the world's population meant a lot of talent and opportunities missed. And even if he had picked a side, the battle was nasty and soul-draining, so he'd not bother joining the ashtray.

"Anyway ladies." Said Michael as he stood up. "It is a great meal, and a great time talking to you guys. I think I need to catch up with my sleep for now."

"Already? Wow, you're early." Azumi noted. "So I'll see you tomorrow I guess?"

"Yeah, tomorrow definitely. I'm gonna need to ask you all a favor for some testings to do." He replied.

"Oh, what is it about?" Megumi asked.

"It's…" He never did finish what he wanted to say as the yawn caught him off-guard and killed all his incentives to tell these girls. "Excuse me. I think I'll explain that first thing in the morning when I finally get down to it. For now, I need to catch up with my sleep."

"My, an early bird I see Joule-san?" Azumi teased.

"Ever slept like a horse?" Michael asked.

"Uhh, no?" Azumi's two irises rolled.

"Then you'll never understand my pain." Michael shrugged dryly before turning around. "See you guys tomorrow."

The Bermuda trio gave Michael each a wave. As the young genius left the cafeteria completely, the typical girl gossip began.

"So, what do you think?" The mandarin haired leader turned over to the two with a playful giggle. "He certainly deflects shots way better than our superheavy T28. Not as easy of a target as I thought"

"He isn't as cute as I imagine." The Saunders alumnae pouted. "Even though he looks small comparing to us."

"Really?" Rumi said with disbelief. "I think he's pretty interesting. A lot more mature than someone his age…A-And seems nice too."

"I mean he's not what I would expect from a junior." Azumi said. "Maybe we should stop judging everyone by our Commander's standard."

"Though his name is Michael Joule, right?" Megumi asked, to which the two curiously nodded. "Is it me or does that name sounds familiar?"

"Michael is a pretty common name, though I don't know where he comes from." Azumi said, nodding. "But Joule?…Yeah, it does sound familiar."

"...I agree." Rumi caressed her chin. Her brows mounded up greatly. Joule. That name did strike chords. It was like magic, or maybe science, that the name brought her back to the days without even knowing her destination, and filled the blue-haired girl with a surge of almost limitless energy. The time she was cramped in that sloppy Soviet T-28 yet eager to prove to the world what that outdated tank could still do. The time that even though Jatsokota never made it to the semi-finals in her three years, she still made herself a name amongst a few of the Senshado legends of the era, one that would push her into the professional league like today. And part of her successes Rumi could arguably attribute and be grateful to one of those people…

'_It can't be her right?' _Rumi thought, her nails suddenly dug into her chin. _'That wouldn't make a lot of sense…'_

* * *

**Ok I admit that after writing chapter 1, I realized that the institution is said in the wiki to be somewhere in Tokyo, which goes in stark contrast to a statement in the chapter that he flew from mainland Japan. So my bad. Because of that careless mistake, my solution is to forget that statement, and make the unknown location even more unknown, just not in Japan. Hope it's a little thing that you won't mind. **

**Secondly, I am still uncertain if my decision to make Rumi initially more reserved personally before Michael is a good idea. Nothing much is revealed from Der Film or any other GuP work really about the Bermuda trio aside from the fact that they are pretty playful among themselves and obsessive about Alice's cuteness, with Azumi being quite liberal with her appearance, so I find it quite difficult to reenact their personality in . And considering Michael is a guy being thrown in the midst of a sea of girl is a vortex of changes for everyone, I'm kind of just taking my liberty here. Her outburst at the beginning also feel inconsistent with this, so I'm not sure. Just give me your thoughts if you feel that it fits. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading the new chapter and I hope to see you in the next one.**


	3. Chapter 3: Social Complication Theory

**I'll admit, writing these technical stories is hard. I'm really trying to make these process a little more interesting, but I don't really know how exactly, so I'm just going with my own intuition and perception of what's interesting, so feel free to point that out to me if you feel significantly bored by some of the chapters, especially this one. **

**Another thing about this chapter is that the physics described in this chapter is...well my own knowledge. Forgive me if I'm wrong when describing any of it. I've tried to research it further, but that's what I could come up with. I'm unfortunately not a physics major, and not a genius in any senses, just a fairly average to good science students, with only computing being my forte. So yeah, I'll try to allow some technical explanations to show through to you guys about how Senshado armor works, but I really don't expect much realism her (as much of GuP physics itself). Again, please forgive me if I'm describing something wrong.**

**Enjoy the chapter and I'll see you in the next one**

**Disclaimer: Obligatory, but again, I don't own any of the GuP characters or settings except for my own OCs**

* * *

Chapter 3: Social Complication Theory

His days had started quite early on. 4 AM in fact. Crap. It was _quite_ early indeed. His hour difference had yet to release its tickling grip from him. It was far before his normal time of awakening, so Michael decided to sleep a little bit longer. To absolute no avail.

'_They did say you'd need as many days for as many hours different."_

The sandbags around his eyes were gone. The tears of the cozy darkness in his eyes vanished. He was wide awake, on his bed, even if he didn't want to. No matter how long he wanted to sleep, no matter how blissful the beds, the sheets and blankets in the All-Star University dorm was, he could not dive again into his sweet dream one more time. His clock had told him to wake up, and he begrudgingly complied. He'd not want to waste any time trying to exceed his numbers.

Silver lining though, it was perhaps not so bad after all. Today was his first official workday at this institution. It wasn't in the contract to say, but the sooner he starts, the faster he'd get it finished. And if you knew anything about the first day at work, it was mainly about familiarizing with the workplace; everything about it. And considering this was also the ladies' first day at work as well, whoever wanted to work that is, it was more the effort to be gathered.

Michael was soon out of bed, took a quick morning shower, got dressed in his dark blue collared long-sleeve shirt and black formal pants before heading out with one of his suitcases. The sun had yet to rise from the endless horizon. The long hallway was still bright with the wall lights dimly carrying whoever's inhabitant was awaken at this odd hour through the drousy lure of sleepiness that may still lurk in their eyes. And yet Michael found out that he wasn't the only one on the boat to that.

"Shimada-san?"

A squeak of a gasp escaped her lips as she was turning her back against his room's direction. To which Michael couldn't help but internally giggle.

"J-Joule-san? I-I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" She sheepishly turned around to apologize, conveniently ignoring his formality of fashion

"Do you think?" He jokingly had his two arms open to show off his gentlemanliness dress code. "No, I was already awake a while ago. My internal clock is still under maintenance. How about you though? You are up wide and early today."

"...It's our protocol." Alice said. "Monday to Friday, training starts at six thirty"

"Wow that's early." Michael's eyebrows ticked. "Though understandable. But when do you all have classes and all? You said there are normal classes here, didn't you?"

"We finish at nine thirty, then anyone who have classes attend." Alice said. "Those who don't can have the time off until three-thirty, including lunch time."

And then they continue training until five-thirty, just like Michael saw the other day. It made sense. But still, the rigorousness was simply impressive. A fair deal for such a good place to stay and a fancy reputation to boot.

"5 hours a day, for 5 days. I don't know about high school but that sounds quite a rigorous training schedule to me." Michael remarked, to which Alice was just resting her chin on her fingers.

"...I don't know either." She breathed out

"About what?" Asked Michael.

"About high school curriculum."

"You didn't-…" Michael was stopped by the fracture of info Chiyo had given him yesterday. She was only thirteen, the youngest in all of places where Michael usually thought he would be. It wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that the girl's education resume had been quite devoid of entries.

"Oh right. Do you attend high school?" He kindly asked.

"..." Her two fingertips now gently touched each others, as her words struggled to formulate on her squeaky vocal chord. "…No. I skipped it straight up."

"Oh nice." Michael remarked - the remark that earned him a look of curiosity. Nice? To skip school?…It wasn't nice…she had heard many about it, that it was among the best years of their lives. She wanted to know more, and yet it was nice to skip straight?

"...What do you mean?" She asked.

"Oh…" Michael realized his own biases. His hand slipped into his pocket as he swung his eyes around to the side. "Sorry, that was my own feelings slipping out." He sighed slightly. "I really don't know what a girl's high school is like, or normal high school in general feels like."

"You skipped it too?"

"No, I was in AP class at a privately funded co-ed high school." He said. "It was rather…different than what it feels in normal school. And not as enjoyable either."

"Oh…" Alice suddenly had the urge to ask further but refused. "…it's too bad."

Michael shrugged. It wasn't anything academically related - he is a genius that everyone, even the teachers sometimes had to rely on. But that status alone, the creative mind, the endless depths of curiosity and the ability to never let go of questions he asked that gave him such an unfair yet perfectly legal advantage over people was sometimes the thorn in his high school life.

'_Okaa-san. I cannot just spend a few years of my life where I was not looked upon like a fellow student'_

Michael couldn't help but laugh inward a little. He wondered if by such a decision he missed something invaluable that he could have learnt there instead of just speeding ahead as fast as he could in life? Perhaps he did, or perhaps he didn't, and perhaps it didn't matter that much for him to stay.

"Anyway, that's already years ago. Now I've already earned two degrees and are doing the third. And I'll need your help for that."

"M-Mine?" Alice stammered. "…H-How can I help you?"

"Well." Michael promptly corrected himself. "All of you. If you don't mind that of course." He then poked his suitcase with the touch of his knee as he looked down at it. "I'll get to it later though, after your first training period. I need time to set things up."

Alice only nodded, knowing it to be an instruction, before speeding off to the training ground. Again, to gather them around after dismissal and…perhaps ask them if they could participate. Michael did not say specifically, but it looked like it was also his intention. He'd probably appreciate it if she goes the extra mile. Hopefully. He sounded kind enough, so maybe it is a good thing. Though how many people would agree to it that's the issue.

* * *

However, it came to her way before she ever needed to go that extra mile.

"Hello?"

While the tanks were on their way back to the hangar, all of a sudden, a voice echoed out in all of the tank commanders' headsets. A young male voice

"Testing. Can anybody hear me?"

This startled everyone, as Alice, Azumi, Megumi and Rumi all eyed each other while they were poking out of their hatches, all asking the same question.

"Is that Joule-san?" Megumi asked as she plugged her earphone back on while raising the mic close to her lips.

"I don't think there is someone else in this institution with such a deep voice." Azumi replied as she adjusted a switch on her radio right beside her, before her voice changed into a lollipop. "Loud and clear, Joule-chan."

The radio went dead silent for a few seconds.

"Call me sensei. That's the rule." Before came back an equally dead serious tone.

"Hey come on." Azumi couldn't help but giggle a bit at the joke the day before. "If anything, you're still four years younger than me."

"If anything, I was a graduate teaching assistant. Teaching you all basic maths that you should have already learnt in high school." Michael mirrored. "You know, those things that you all always complained about but so desperately needed to save that into that tight metal box."

"Azumi, just admit that math is an important subject already." Megumi smirked as she torrented her friend who had just been made fun of.

"Hey, you don't need like integration, derivative and all that." Azumi pouted. "Maybe guys like Joule-san need it, but I'm really just an average woman in Senshado."

"I'm surprised you still remember the name of it. Well done." Before being murdered by Megumi's sharp as nail's words. As the girl conceded defeat, the brunette continued. "Hello Joule-san. I could hear you well. What is it that you have to call us via our intercom? Could you wait until we get back to the garage?"

"Oh I was just testing my computer's connection to the institution's central mainframe." Michael replied. "Since I may have to do this often. But since we're already here, I'd kindly ask you all if you could join me for this short test of equipment."

This was a little sudden, as all the commanders were now above their hatches, looking at each other uncertainly. They had no idea what to do, and mostly just relied on their friends whether or not taking part or not.

The lack of answers were a little offsetting, so after a little minute or two, Alice spoke up.

"...I'll do it."

The call surprised almost everyone. Then almost according to a chain reaction, the three Bermuda trio spoke simultaneously.

"I'll do it as well!"

A moment of silence ensued on the intercom.

"You fellas do react like a duck following its mommy." Michael responded, as dry as a piece of sandpaper.

"Hey, we do not!" A simultaneous reply no less.

"Yeah yeah, outright denial is a huge red flag." Michael rolled his eyes before typing the information on his laptop. "You know, if I know I have so few testers, I would've just placed a chicken drumstick in a cage for easy profit, but international regulation requires what we call 'informed consent', otherwise they'd sue me to death."

Michael then switched the frequency of the intercom to the universal channel.

"Alright, if you aren't participating in this test, you may return to the hangar, or just go wherever you please. For you guys, you can head to section…" A short few seconds of pauses continued. "Where is it on the map, Taneka-san?…Ok…Section A17."

A couple of looks at each other before the four of them shrugged and headed for the designated location on the map. When they arrived, there were around three training targets painted with overlapping red and white circles. But to their knowledge from hours of rigorous training, the target looks quite weird. There were multiple wirings and a strange box behind the target extending outward quite visibly even from the front.

"This is the calibration machine, used to see how the molecules in your armor fare when objects hit them." He explained. "This is just a test, to see if it is capable of measuring the misery of those molecules when you hammer them with your live shells every day."

"We do." Megumi rolled her eyes in amusement. "So we just shoot at them?"

"Yes. Just don't shoot at the same target. I want to see them work."

"~Roger~" She obliged before turning to her two friends. Three targets, three edges of a triangle, three Bermuda members. What could be more suited?

The three training Sherman tanks adjusted their positions carefully before slowly turning the gun over to aim at their respective targets. Almost simultaneously, to the signal, the girls transmitted their order to fire to the gunners. The shells slammed onto the training targets, made up of the fraction of the tank's armor, their momentum quickly absorbed by the amazing property of the material itself, slowing down before exploding cleanly on it.

Very soon after the impacts, on Michael's computer, three line graphs popped up from the program he was opening, followed by three motion pictures of a cluster of dots moving around frantically.

"Very good. Everything seems to be working well." After a quick check, Michael soon announced. "Though for the record, you don't have to fire so simultaneous."

"So what next?" Rumi asked.

"Stay there." He replied. "For today, we'll simply try ways to shoot at these marshmallow molecules and how marshmallow molecules react to being shot at. Just one of you only. Move the tank so that the gun faces the target perpendicularly."

Looking at each other, everybody agreed it was Alice's turn, as her training Panther was fairly close to one of the targets. She commanded the tank to move right into position, quite close to the target.

"Now fire."

She complied. The shells flew right into the target and dissipated just like last time. The procedure happened without any anomalies.

"Now move your tank back fifty meters then perform the feat again."

And she did.

"Another fifty."

She did again.

"And another fifty."

Rinse repeat a few times before Michael finally called it quits and moved onto the next calibration. And by a few times he meant that it took over 20 minutes, and Alice's Panther is now nearly a kilometer away from the target. Cheers to the gunner for actually managing to accomplish the shot at such a distance, but with extreme perfectionist syndrome now injected in their veins.

"Oh my god, what the hell is all of this for?" Rumi heard a voice below her inside the tank in confusion and nervousness.

"Impressive. Please note that any appearance of impossibility is merely a device to enhance your testing experience." Michael said. "If the laws of physics fail to materialize your desired outcome…God help you. Now let's proceed."

The foundation was set for the test subjects - poor the gunners - to perform Michael's examination. The procedures were relatively similar, with only slight alteration in the rules - firing at an angle and firing simultaneously. The gunners still had to pick all their hairs out to accomplish the test, and the rest of the crew was still confused to what was happening.

"Alright, looks like you deserve a break." He said. "Thanks for your cooperation today."

Still relatively confused over what's happening in this entire thing, the entire near two dozen girls merely blinked just as Michael went completely off the intercom.

"Is it me or that these tests are really meaningless?" Rumi said.

"I don't know. I mean what is this even about anyway?" Megumi asked. "It all seems like just training but repeated several times. I know he has some sort of calibration instrument that we have to shoot at, but what does it calibrate?"

"They do say geniuses look like weirdos to commoners like us." Azumi quoted. "We probably won't get these stuffs even if he explains it to us."

"Anyway, let's not get our heads boiling in confusion." Megumi tried to stir the topics away from the whole thing and proceeded to talk about things like music or the latest movie in the cinema - typical girl's stuff. It wasn't really anything that should concern her that much. What concerned her was what it brought for her. Assuming that what Michael said about it was true, an entry in the international team resume was worth thousands of yen. It seemed worth it. It didn't seem like something she'd hate.

The switch of topic was not in Alice's preference though. Talking in groups was already not a good medium, but hearing the girls talk about something so common to girls, yet so foreign to her, it was just salt adding to her unsocial personality. If just felt unwelcome. She had always considered this institution to be her home, but sometimes it did not feel so. She felt like who she really was in this place: a guest, a stranger rather than a family. Rather than what she should really feel.

* * *

"Ahh, thank you for letting me do this today, Taneka-san." Michael told her. "All the calibration is of good condition."

"I'm glad I could help." The girl in braids beamed brightly. "And please, you're the guest of this institution. You are welcomed all the time here."

"Alright, then do you mind if I linger around a little longer?" He respectfully requested. "Then I don't have to open this again later."

"Of course."

With a nod of appreciation, Michael proceeded to input the data on his devices. A laptop right in front of him, a microphone dormantly laying beside his left hand, and the tablet on his right hand. His hands worked like two clocks, each keyboard click never half a second apart from the last one. He didn't really want to put this much burden on the logistic crew of the institution, but they didn't seem to mind. Well, Taneka-san doesn't seem to mind, so he'd finish this as soon as possible, so he could proceed onto the next testing the next day (afternoon plans are way too tiring for everyone).

"I've been wondering though, Taneka-san" He began. "Are you…like…the manager of the entire crew here?"

Her eyes blinked twice, seemingly curious.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, I don't seem to need to talk to anyone else but you. And it doesn't seem like it's something illegal, so I just think so."

Aimi raised an eyebrow in great interest, though she had to politely correct him.

"Well, no. We don't have ranks here. The only higher-ups we have is our coach, Mrs. Shimada. The reason we know what to do is…well…" She paused a little, not knowing if this was appropriate. "…we talked about you."

"Oh really?" It was Michael's turn to smirk his eyebrows. His busy hands relaxed on his armrest. "About what exactly?"

"I-It's not anything bad. It's just that…well…you're a guy, we're all girls." The attempt turned out a little passive aggressive. Though that did not answer his question. "It's mostly about who you are. If they're not wrong, you're the youngest participant in Japan to participate and win the International Physics Olympiad at the age of 12."

"They're not." Michael rolled his eyes. "I'll be damned that they actually remember my face after six years."

While he did appear in a few news article, it was at the forgotten corner of the article, so Michael always find it interesting that people would actually recognize his identity, especially since during the six years since that silver medal puberty had done a lot of shaping up and down to his face. It's quite sad how science is so ignored nowadays.

"Rumors travel fast." Aimi remarked. "I wouldn't be surprised if people recognize who I am."

"Who I am…" Michael repeated her. His curiosity meter went sky high. "Who are you?"

"..." Aimi zoned out for a few seconds. "…Oh! What am I saying? No no, I'm not that popular anyway."

Her poor attempt to distract him backfired spectacularly, as Michael seemed even more interested.

"I used to practice Senshado, but that was it. Nothing eventful happened." Aimi said, the last sentence her tone suddenly went over the roof.

"Hmmm." Michael flattened his lips, hummed for a few seconds long before looking back at his laptop. "Fascinating. I'd love to talk more about it, but now, I have to wrap this up. Whatever ways you want to interpret that as."

Aimi giggled a bit at the end as Michael went back to his arrays of technology before him.

But that response. Was Aimi actually not that popular at all? The fact that he did recall her accent and the way she talked from somewhere was a point of interest. It may not actually the first time the two have met. From the looks of it, a more pointy chin, the more busty figure, and the deeper voice, she seemed to be his sister's age as well. If that's the case, then she might actually be her comrade in arms or worthy rivals. Her words.

But if that's the case, then she would definitely know about it.

'_Focus.' _Michael slapped himself internally as he went back to work. This was not the time.

* * *

Later in the evening

"...Hmm, this is just daunting."

The rest of the day had been spent in the computer room for pure analysis of the data he had received from the girls that morning. Well, rather the compilation of the analysis that he supposedly did for the rest of the day. Michael had already seen the answer even before the question was asked. The pattern of molecules captured on the calibration machine showed a more compact and denser surface of the armor when fired at a less acute angle and at a closer distance. So it could be speculated that firing at an angle closer to 90 degrees, along with getting closer to the armor, will apply more pressure to the piece of league-sanctioned metal…which is basically the common sense of physics. All he did was basically proving it, which really served nothing. But procedure still required him to go through it rigorously, and to made sure the properties of these materials still follow basic physics. It wasn't the knowledge that daunts him, but the tiring amount of time he needed to just simply write these down that was burning his ropes.

"Working hard there, Joule-san?"

All of a sudden, two hands pinched his shoulders as someone peered over onto the tablet he was writing on. He knew she was peering on, because of how close she was to his cheeks. He could see her chestnut colored hair and strawberry aroma of shampoo from her wavering fawningly to his increasingly deepened breathe.

"Are you doing that just to impress me?" Michael was cross. "What would impress me more is that you never do that again."

"Aww, that's cold." She continued to tease him. "I thought boys like these kinds of things."

"Most do. Unfortunately, I'm a bigger person, and I'm all onto your tricks." He gloated. "Anyway, why are you here?"

"Oh we just had a notification that we're going to be participating in an exhibition match. So we're here to discuss it." Azumi turned around to the entry of Rumi, Megumi and also Alice, who just finished her Boko show.

"Good evening Joule-san." Megumi greeted elegantly. "Are we bothering you?"

"I'm almost done actually. The rest is mostly miscellaneous stuffs that I was just adding for the edge of the paper." Michael replied, as he swiped through his document pages.

"Hmmm?" Megumi now also looked over Michael's shoulders to the document, but at least she knew some decent modesty with her approach. Though the blocks of texts were more than enough to make her jump back in horror, the horror of her school days in science classes.

"You guys are curious humans." He commented.

"I'm just wondering for what purpose we're doing these tests for. Like not just for a resume entry." She replied. "I wonder if you can tell us a bit of that?"

"Hey that's a great idea Megumi. How about we talk a bit about it?" Azumi turned around and suggested with great enthusiasts.

"My work? You mean my research. What exactly?" Michael asked. "And didn't you guys have to discuss whatever exhibition match you guys are doing?"

"We still have to wait for coach to show up too." She said. "While we wait, I just wanna know what you do, and in turns what we do. I don't even have a clue of what exactly we're doing our tests for. Maybe explain what it is about. Like…what properties you're doing, or what results we can conclude from it."

"Properties? Hmm, that would take the whole night just to explain it." Michael said.

And the fact that these girls aren't STEM people either. He couldn't talk technical here, they wouldn't have a clue. It needs to be something simple. Not just college simple. Something that even a kid could understand. Otherwise he'd just run into the pitfall of so many of our current educators. One that plagued so many bright bulbs to run their curious minds into the ground.

"Don't worry, if anything, our Commander here will quickly explain what you mean." Megumi winked as she patted Alice's shoulders, to which the latter was surprisingly…uncomfortable? Her eyes were rolling around unsettled by the notion while her arms wrapped even tighter to her Boko teddy bear.

"Megumi. It's not like our commander can know everything out there. She's only thirteen." Rumi whispered, but it was loud enough for Michael to hear. They all did not escape his attention and curiosity. In fact, it rather hit home. It wasn't easy to just take it, especially if you're such a self-conscious person. The notion that everybody thinks you know everything, have to know everything and would always expect everything from you was an especially common thing among geniuses and prodigies all around. And it hurts when they realize that you actually don't. That aside from the uncommon talent in one particular thing, they are just human beings, like the people next to them.

But whether or not Alice could understand it, Michael couldn't rely on that. If he had to, then he'd already was a failure in the art of education. Or even in understanding the fundamentals of his own life work itself. Einstein is right. If you can't explain it simply, then you don't understand it well enough.

"No worries about that." Michael raised his palm facing the girls. "I'd explain it like I'm writing my book 'for dummies'. And yes, that's you that I'm talking about."

With that said, he took a step back and took a deep breathe. Just imagine that they are kids. Curious kids with brilliant minds that need to be unlocked. If he gets to molecule immediately, they'd be spooked. He had a better idea.

"You've all heard of springs, right?" Michael asked.

"Mhm." All four of them nodded. "I actually just revisit it in the last chapter of my physics course." Then Megumi added.

"Hmm, good. So what have you learned so far about it?" Michael asked.

"Not much other than recapping high school knowledge, to which I really suck at back then." She rubbed the back of her head in fluster. "By the way, from that chapter I've been wondering something."

"Go ahead."

"Why does a spring…spring? Like how is it considered elastic?"

The question was clear enough, but quite thoughtful. The girls around were nodding in acknowledgment of the question.

"Good question." Michael remarked. "This is actually better when demonstrated." He then reached for the piece of the paper on the table near the printer and then handed it over to the nearest girl, Rumi.

"Rumi-san. Please fold this A4 paper seven times."

Rumi was a little confused to what he said, but a quick instruction made it clear that he was attempting an almost impossible task by hands. But she wouldn't realize until the fifth fold. The last two was a little too much that in the end she had to use her entire arm just to press the fold and couldn't even call it a success, as the paper would unfold immediately after being folded.

"A little difficult, don't you think? But impressive. Maybe that's the benefit of living in a metal box for like a quarter of your lifetime." Michael said dryly as he took the paper from Rumi's hand, unfold it one time to make it easier for him. He held in high so that everybody could see, holding the folded paper by the edge then pressed it, then released. The paper would compress when pressed, then unfold itself when his grip loosened.

"As you can see, the paper would resist harder for your subsequent folds. Now here's the kicker. Have you ever wondered why the paper would unfold unless you hold it?"

The question really seemed to strike chords in Megumi and the rest.

"Elasticity?" Megumi rubbed her hair in confusion.

"Yes, that is it." But Michael confirmed the suspicious and awed brunette. "The atoms, the bones of everything around us, holding the material are flexible matters. When you apply forces to it…" He pressed the piece of paper again. "The interconnected molecules will shift around and develop a force to resist your applied force. If your applied force is not too great, the object would automatically return to its original state when you remove the force."

Then he lifted the finger, completely away from the paper, and it unfolded once.

"The displacement is what we call Elastic Deformation. And the more you apply the force to it, the more molecules are involved, so the more resistance you encounter, according to the distance you deform it and the types and shape of material you are deforming. A spring is just a special shape that is more elastic."

"Wow, I didn't know that." Azumi nodded, her mouth still hung in process.

"But you may have heard this in high school. That notion I just described is the simple version of Hooke's law."

"That's…fantastical." Rumi was staring in awe. "I never imagine that it would be so applicable."

"Oh it goes even further than that. Just look at your skin." He placed the piece of paper down and then pinched the skin of his right arm. "The more you pull, the harder it is to. And when you release it, it goes back."

The girls did the exact thing. And their minds were completely blown. The simple thing that they always knew and took as common sense, now connected to a law that they only thought would only apply to a foreign entity that they never thought would need to be cared about. It turned out that physics was closer to home than they thought.

"And that's the closest thing you can get to understanding my work tentatively. The von Braun molecule in your armor works almost the same way."

"Wait, our armor is elastic?" Megumi asked.

"Well, everything solid in this world is elastic to a certain degree, but the Senshado armor works in a special manner, since the molecule structure is completely different. Concepts, however, remains the same." Michael explained. "But do you know what intrigues me more than that? Permanent Deformation."

"Remember what I said about the force not being too great? Now imagine what would happen if you do. In fact you don't even need to think. The term is there for you to guess."

Michael unfolded the paper entirely while the girls guess, then grabbed the identical paper from the side of the table.

"According to the rules of elastic deformation, the paper would revert to its original form…But take a look…It does not." He said. "It's no longer this smoothened paper anymore."

The four girls peered over the two papers on the table, eyes wide like their very own curiosity.

"Oh yeah, I remember now." Megumi nodded, and the three turned around to her. "It's because you've applied too much force. The paper, therefore, lost the elasticity, is then permanently deformed, like how you pull a spring too much."

"Perfect." Michael commended. "Since your tank's armor operate very parallel to the principles of elasticity, I believe there is a point where the armor would be permanently deformed."

"And what is that point?" Azumi asked.

The flow of dialogue suddenly came to a halt, as Michael finally reached the end of the line. The end of his knowledge horizon, after he had sped his entire way across in a less than five minutes quick lecture. This was where he was standing at this current hour of the day. Where the boundaries he wanted to redefine for humanity to follow.

"...I don't know." He admitted, honestly. "Science has only advanced so far."

But then he retorted with full decisiveness.

"But I intend to find out!"

And here they found a beautiful demonstration.

"Wonderful Joule-san!" Azumi couldn't help but gave Michael a round of applause, and promptly wished if her physics teacher in high school be this good.

"It's so ironic that now I'm actually curiously interested in physics now. It's extraordinary." Megumi seconded, to which Alice couldn't help but nod enthusiastically, and a pretty smile.

"...You're natural at this, Joule-san." Rumi stated, rather hesitantly but genuinely.

"Hey, maybe you should be a teacher. I swear, millions would be inspired!" Azumi interjected. "Oh wait, you're getting a PhD, right? Then become a professor. You'd be the next Albert Einstein!"

"Hahaha. Please don't smudge his legacy with such comparisons." Michael giggled, a little flustered at the barrage of compliments given to him. "But you got that right. That's one of my goal right now, since I can't be a Senshado practitioner."

"Oh hell yes, I have a younger sister in middle school right now. Her best subject too is physics" Azumi said. "I'll tell her to enroll where you work."

It seemed like he was on the right track after all.

"Well, I'll look forward." He shrugged with a smile.

* * *

The aura of curiosity and awe of the short five-minute lecture soon disappear when everyone decided to call it a day and went back to their room to rest. The next day was going to be a busy day as well for all of them. By ten o' clock, all the inhabitants of the living room had been cut in half. And strangely enough, they were both the resident's most unique individuals.

Michael had just finished compiling the result and speculation of his calibration earlier in the day when Alice approached him.

"...It was a nice presentation." She shyly said. "I like it."

"Oh why thank you." Michael nodded in appreciation. "You understand it?"

"...Yeah…I'm not too knowledgable of it myself, but I still understood and it gave me interests."

Hearing that made him smile.

"I'm glad it does."

It was never too boastful to admit being glad that you inspired people to be curious.

"...But I'm also wondering…" She suddenly glanced sideway, her tone of voice suddenly took a strange interval. "…How can you say it so…coherently?"

"What do you mean?"

"I-I'm not good at physics. Nowhere near my knowledge level but I can still understand what you say." She clarified. "…And not just that. Like how do you talk so confidently before others so casually?"

Oh it's that millennium question. He did not condemn it, really, though he wasn't really surprised himself. Simply because he was the one asking that himself. Only just about her age as well.

"I believe it's just social practice." Michael replied. "Learn by experience and observation."

"...But…" She was hesitant again. The sound of her voice faded into the background. "…I couldn't find myself fitting in with my squadmates. Their topics are so…"

"...out of your dictionary?"

She nodded. That was a different story on its own though.

"Do you think I fit in with my peers as well?" Michael asked.

"Well, you do. You never seem to hesitate out of nervousness." She replied.

"That's just normal courtesy and communication. Have I ever talked to them anything outside my thesis?"

That seemed to catch her a little off-guard.

"...No."

Michael leaned back on his chair with his arms on the armrests, looking back up to Alice, before sighing.

"It may sound surprising to you," He said "…but I don't fit in with my peers as well. Only a select few are my friends."

"R-Really?"

Michael nodded deeply.

"Why do you think I don't enjoy high school?" He asked, rhetorically, while he clasped his hands together. "It's not anything academic. I just feel unwelcomed."

"Then how do I…"

The doctoral candidate simply leaned his head a little bit over his right shoulder. He made the 'answer's right there' look.

"If you're hesitant with your friends, then come to me." He said. "I can always whip up a conversation or two."

All of a sudden, a tiny squeak came out of her, to which Michael was barely able to contain the amusement. Lack of social interaction could be a huge hassle, but it could also result in some cute situations too as silver linings.

"A-A-Are you sure?" She stuttered. "I may hinder you with your work."

"I'm not a machine, you know"

"That's true but-"

"You don't need to follow the crowds sometimes to feel welcomed." He said, with utmost sincerity. "It's only a matter of which bookshelf fits your dictionary."

She couldn't find a way to counter that point anymore. Because…he was right.

"My dictionary may rust people, but we're both grade skipping weirdos here. If you find it entertaining to you, then by all means."

And she couldn't find any counterpoints for it either. They were all right to her. It was funny how Michael was the latest person she ever met, the least she had interacted as well, yet he seemed to strike home a lot more than some of her most closest friends, or rather acquaintances, could ever do. Birds of the same feather flock together? She wouldn't know unless she tried.

"...Mhm…" She mumbled, seemingly understood. The smile on her face helped to confirm it to Michael. "I don't mind it at all."

But why not start with another genius like him?


End file.
